Industry & Mining

Comprising major food and consumer staples producers, Africa’s largest cement manufacturers, and a handful of heavy industries and light manufacturing, Nigeria has a diversified industrial sector. According to data from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), the country is home to the largest manufacturing sector on the continent and, along with Egypt, South Africa and Morocco, it accounts for two-thirds of the continent’s manufacturing in nominal US dollar terms. Given the potential of the industrial sector for both employment and revenues, the government is hoping to stoke further growth. The potential Nigeria offers as an industrial producer is not in any doubt, and the long-term advantages are sizeable, but so too are the challenges. As a result, the stabilisation of the macroeconomic situation offers some short-term hope. The long-term promise, however, is significant given the country’s vast array of inputs, such as natural gas, metals and agricultural commodities, as well as a domestic market of 189m people and duty-free access to another 120m consumers within ECOWAS.

This chapter contains interviews with Okechukwu E Enelamah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; and Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Solid Minerals Development; and a roundtable interview with Chidi Okoro, Managing Director, UAC Foods; Theo Williams, Country Manager, AJE; and George Plymenakos, Managing Director, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC).